It’s just come to my attention that a tenant of mine, is in this country illegally, he’s been staying at the property for last 18months.

Where do I stand regarding law? Or do I simply leave things as they are?:confused:

Thanks in Advance

Worldlife

17-08-2006, 13:27 PM

Firstly what evidence do you have to allege that the person staying at your property is an illegal immigrant?

Does the tenant have a tenancy agreement with you or is he staying with a tenant who has an agreement with you?

Who undertook the checks on the tenancy. If one use an agency such as TenantVERIFY (link above under the blue bar) there would have been need to document the tenant's identity.

Is the rent being paid for the property regularly?

Are you worried by the situation and have you contemplated serving a notice requiring possession (Section 21 Housing Act - search these forums for more information)?

You could start the ball rolling by approaching the renamed Home Office "Immigration and Nationality Department" who can deal with ...

complaints and allegations from the public about people who may have made a false claim to enter or remain in the UK.

See Contact us Home Office IND (http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/contactus/complaints)

You will have to weigh up whether such public spirited action might result in a loss of rental income!

PaulF

17-08-2006, 17:27 PM

Rather than Worldlife askling lots of questions this situation is about as hopeless as it can get!

The AST will not be any good much as the tenant won't be able to understand what he has signed unless of course an interpreter was brought in to explain it all to him! No! Thought not!

It's obvious no referencing was done so you have a tenant who you won't be able to control (legally) and possibly an immigrant who shouldn't be here.

Sorry but you are on your own here!

Worldlife

17-08-2006, 18:37 PM

This alleged illegal immigrant might be an asylum seeker for all we know!

Paul you are assuming that there is a written tenancy agreement here and ,if there is such a written tenancy agreement, it was granted to the alleged illegal immigrant or asylum seeker.

Perhaps the situation would not be quite so hopeless if a written tenancy agreement is not in place!!!!

Paul - instead of asking questions you seem to have come to conclusions concerning a written AST that may (or may not) exist.

I consider it was a reasonable suggestion that, if the tenant pays rent and is taking reasonable care of the property, Uncle Fester should not pursue the alleged illegal immigrant issue. It cannot help the landlord in this situation and may result in a long eviction procedure resulting in loss of rent and potential (non-recoverable) damage to the property.

Although Paul states the situation seems "hopeless" I would not agree it is hopeless if the tenant is paying rent! It is IMHO useful to seek information and offer suggestions to minimise the risk of worsening the situation.

MrShed

17-08-2006, 19:41 PM

It is also a fairly big assumption that an immigrant would not speak english paul...

pms

17-08-2006, 22:51 PM

Rather than Worldlife askling lots of questions this situation is about as hopeless as it can get!

The AST will not be any good much as the tenant won't be able to understand what he has signed unless of course an interpreter was brought in to explain it all to him! No! Thought not!

It's obvious no referencing was done so you have a tenant who you won't be able to control (legally) and possibly an immigrant who shouldn't be here.

Sorry but you are on your own here!

Paul as usual you are talking out of your rear end.I agree with Worldlife and Mr Shed on this one.As long as the rent is being paid and that a tenancy is in place who's worried.With an estimate of 450,000 illegal imagrants in this country I dont think 1 other would make any difference.You seem to be jumping the gun here what is there to say that this person is not fluent in English and doesn't understand the law.As for referencing perhaps Uncle Fester could let us know if the tenancy was made through an agent or Uncle Fester made the checks himself.

Poppy

18-08-2006, 08:23 AM

Uncle Fester, is it that you merely want to know if you are breaking any laws by housing this tenant? Which of you dear members can answer this question please?

kimhazzard

18-08-2006, 08:33 AM

If your were in doubt that the tenant was an immigrant you can call the immigration authority anonymously and get advice.

jimbo

18-08-2006, 10:11 AM

Hello,

Uncle Fester;

if the tennant is a lady/man and looks like Morticia why not consider getting married for a number of years then she will be legal no more worries..? about being illegal

The house is a museum.
When people come to see'em.
They really are a scre-am.
The Addams Family.

Jimbo

Uncle Fester

18-08-2006, 16:38 PM

Thanks for everyone’s input!

I let my property via a local agency, who found me 2 tenants (Ref + Credit checked). They signed a 1 Year AST…about 8 months into the tenancy 1 of them had to leave, so he found me a replacement tenant himself.

Recently, this new guy has told me, he is here illegally…I want to know if I am breaking the law or not?

I don’t want him to leave, as he's an Excellent tenant, as he always pays his rent early & keeps everything in good order.:)

Paul_F – He’s a Doctor from Paraguay and speaks perfect English!

pms

18-08-2006, 16:56 PM

Thanks for everyone’s input!

I let my property via a local agency, who found me 2 tenants (Ref + Credit checked). They signed a 1 Year AST…about 8 months into the tenancy 1 of them had to leave, so he found me a replacement tenant himself.

Recently, this new guy has told me, he is here illegally…I want to know if I am breaking the law or not?

I don’t want him to leave, as he's an Excellent tenant, as he always pays his rent early & keeps everything in good order.:)

Paul_F – He’s a Doctor from Paraguay and speaks perfect English!

Uncle Fester: Presumbly your tenant must have an NI no so that he can work here.It is quite possible that you are breaking the law but without intent.If you were unaware that your tenant is illegal then if any court proceedings were instigated it would be up to the authorities to prove different.

MrShed

18-08-2006, 18:15 PM

I really do think that if you KNOW he is an illegal immigrant, you really should act upon this.

Worldlife

18-08-2006, 20:21 PM

Is there a possibility that the original poster misheard the tenant? What the tenant might have said was that he was a legal immigrant. It is so difficult to be sure when there are loud lorries passing !

As I wrote in my earlier post there is often confusion between illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.

I would give the benefit of the doubt to a good professional tenant who is paying the rent regularly and would not rock the boat.

lawstudent

21-08-2006, 08:28 AM

Paul as usual you are talking out of your rear
I don't know about his rear but there was a time when his mouth was connected to something between his ears.

lawstudent

21-08-2006, 08:41 AM

Uncle Fester - there is no legal requirement that you shop people you suspect of illegal activity. In any event, as Worldlife said, he might have said he was a legal immigrant ... or, more probably, an ill legal immigrant. Or he might be a Neil Eagle immigrant (having arrived on Neil Eagle Airlines).

Worldlife

21-08-2006, 21:15 PM

<snip> he might have said he was a legal immigrant ... or, more probably, an ill legal immigrant.

:) ROFL I nominate that as one of the funniest posts on the LandlordZONE

Maybe worth starting a thread for similar amusing postings.

Uncle Fester

23-08-2006, 15:26 PM

He's told me, quite clearly, he's here illegally!

lawstudent

23-08-2006, 18:47 PM

Oh shut up :p

pippay

23-08-2006, 21:10 PM

Seems quite clear to me .. You have 2 options.

Either report him and be prepared to look a little silly (OK, more than a bit silly) if you've got it wrong .. in which case he may have a case against you for harassment

or

Let him continue to stay and pay you rent.

No-one on here can decide for you whether you should take the moral high ground or maintain the current status quo, which you appear to be quite happy with.

Personally, I cannot imagine a highly intelligent man (as this tenant appears to be by virtue of his profession) willingly telling ANYONE that he is in the country illegally ... unless he's totally lost his marbles.

Your call, I'm afraid.

He's told me, quite clearly, he's here illegally!

pms

23-08-2006, 23:58 PM

He's told me, quite clearly, he's here illegally!

No doubt Uncle Fester if you did "shop" him and he went all the way to the COA no doubt they(the men in wigs) would waste taxpayers money deciding the meaning of "illegal" and then grant him status or as Worldlife and Lawstudent have already posted perhaps you heard him wrong.

dazalock

24-08-2006, 10:09 AM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/4698062.stm

MrShed

24-08-2006, 10:13 AM

Good link dazalock...and I think that story answers the posters question!!

Worldlife

24-08-2006, 17:33 PM

Seems the jail sentence here was imposed for 25 offences of a particularly serious nature:-

Nevin told police he was responsible for providing accommodation, transport and contracts with an employment agency for the immigrants.

It was stated that the landlord was exploiting the system.

If Uncle Fester is charging the market rent for the property and housing conditions were satisfactory I consider it would be extremely difficulty to convict him for exploitation of just one ill legal immigrant.

Maybe the actual housing conditions of these 25 immigrants were considered in in imposing the jail sentence. I doubt if proper tenancy agreements were provided and the set up seems to revert to the bad old days of tied accommodation - again another exploitation issue.

Uncle Fester

13-05-2007, 19:04 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070513/ap_on_re_us/immigration_texas

:eek:

Could It happen here???

Tweedle Dum

13-05-2007, 19:42 PM

You also need to bear in mind the possible implications of depriving the NHS of another Doctor. Could be life threatening for someone. I think shopping him would be extremely selfish;)